Matthew is exactly the kind of hurricane that terrifies meteorologists. As of Thursday evening, the storm was a well-organized Category 4, with sustained winds of about 140 mph. Since weather records began in 1851, no hurricane of Matthew's strength has ever made landfall in Florida north of West Palm Beach.

There's one simple reason why meteorologists are so worried about Matthew: It packs a similar punch as some of the strongest hurricanes ever to hit Florida, like 1992's Hurricane Andrew, but since it will be traveling parallel to the coast, it'll have a much bigger impact.

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Because a Cat 4 or 5 would hit so many cities, the extent of the devastation would greatly exceed Andrew. https://t.co/Dr3NIipz44

Northeast to southwest, Andrew's hurricane-strength winds affected only about 65 miles of coastline. Matthew's could stretch as far as 450 miles, from near Vero Beach, Florida, to Charleston, South Carolina. In addition to greatly increasing the number of homes exposed to hurricane force winds, that trajectory will also enhance Matthew's storm surge, its biggest threat.

"FAILURE TO ADEQUATELY SHELTER MAY RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY, LOSS OF LIFE, OR IMMENSE HUMAN SUFFERING."

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And:

"LOCATIONS MAY BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS OR MONTHS."

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There had been hope the hurricane's center, which forecasters expect will travel roughly parallel to the curved coastline, would remain a bit offshore, lessening the impact to land. During the day on Thursday, when high resolution weather models repeatedly indicated that probably won't happen, the NWS office in Jacksonville upped its warning language even higher: "This is now a worst case storm surge scenario."

Though Matthew's winds will be "catastrophic" according to the Saffir-Simpson scale the NWS uses, storm surge is the leading killer during hurricanes. Matthew's along-the-coast track will also act like a steamroller, pushing a wall of water along the shore, and increasing the coastal flood threat.

The latest forecast is for hurricane force wind speeds of up to 140 mph across most of Florida's east coast, and an 8-to-11-foot storm surge—big enough to wash away homes and remake the state's iconic beaches. Waves of up to 30 feet could scour the coast all the way to the Georgia border and beyond. A quick analysis shows a return period of a coastal flood like that is less than once every 500 years. About 2 million people are under mandatory evacuation orders, the most for any U.S. hurricane since Sandy.

Simply put: If Florida's disaster preparedness officials wanted to script a worst-case scenario for the state, it would look a lot like Hurricane Matthew. This is a nightmare hurricane.